Experience Nashville’s groundbreaking multimedia arts festival celebrating the rich heritage and bold, contemporary contributions of Indigenous artists. Now in its third year, IndigeNash returns for a full week of visual art, music, dance, film, fashion, storytelling, food, wellness, and community, honoring the Native voices shaping culture today.
From dynamic gallery exhibitions and electrifying live performances to film screenings, cultural conversations, and a two – day Indigenous artisan market, IndigeNash offers an immersive celebration of the traditions, creativity, and innovation of Indigenous peoples from Tennessee and across Turtle Island.
IndigeNash is a landmark Native-led arts festival created by a local team of Indigenous artists, producers and collaborators.
Returning November 17 – 22, 2026, IndigeNash is a weeklong celebration showcasing Indigenous artists and culture bearers across visual art, music, film, fashion, culinary arts, dance, storytelling, installation, and more.
IndigeNash honors the invaluable contributions of Indigenous peoples while expanding awareness of Nashville’s rich and often overlooked Indigenous history and cultural landscape. Now entering its third year, this first – of – its – kind festival continues to build momentum as a platform for Indigenous creativity, cultural exchange, artistic inclusion, and meaningful social change.
Festival highlights include traditional and contemporary dance and music performances, gallery exhibitions featuring Indigenous artists, film screenings and panels, a two – day Indigenous artisan market, cultural demonstrations, culinary experiences, wellness events, and live showcases. Through this programming, IndigeNash celebrates Indigenous voices while creating opportunities for the broader community to engage with Indigenous traditions, stories, and contemporary experiences.
Funding raised in support of the festival prioritizes direct compensation for the Indigenous artists, performers, filmmakers, culture bearers, educators, and creatives who make IndigeNash possible. Artists are paid to exhibit, perform, teach, and participate through the support of community partners, grantmakers, individual donors, sponsors, in-kind contributors, and IndigeNash’s fiscal sponsor, The Forge Nashville.
Join this landmark celebration and help support the continued visibility, recognition, and investment of Indigenous artists and culture in Nashville.
INDIGENASH 2026 | FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Tuesday, November 17
6 PM Opening Ceremonies & Group Gallery Opening Reception | The Forge Nashville
The opening reception will feature local Indigenous opera singer Sarah Antell performing a work from The Sun Dance Opera, co-created in 1913 by Yankton Dakota writer, musician, and activist Zitkála-Šá. Recognized as the first American Indian opera, it is a landmark in Indigenous artistic history and an important contribution to the broader history of women in American opera.
Wednesday, November 18
9 AM Soundbath + Meditation | Patagonia Nashville
2 PM Screening: “Reservation Redemption” with filmmaker Blake Pickens” | Soho House
This 57 – minute documentary focuses on Native American over-incarceration and cultural reconnection. It recently premiered nationally on PBS on November 1st. One juror away from the death penalty at 17, Marchand Rice, a Colville tribal member, was sentenced to life without parole for murder. Everything changed when respected Kalispel spiritual leader Francis Cullooyah asked him one life-altering question: “Who do you want to be when you grow up?” This powerful film follow’s the 40 – year transformative journey of Chief Marchand Rice, exploring spiritual healing and accountability through Indigenous traditions.
6 PM “The Indigenous Story of Cacao: Chocolate Museum” | RADAR Gallery
Sophia Rhea is leading an exhibition at Radar featuring ancient cacao – production tools and prints. One especially fascinating connection: archaeological evidence published this year points to cacao reaching what is now Georgia centuries before colonization, raising intriguing questions about Indigenous trade networks + culinary traditions across the region.
Thursday, November 19
9 AM Morning Skate | Cornelia Airpark & 1 PM MMIP Panel | Patagonia Nashville
Skeet Fighter (Melissa Skeet) leads a community roller-skating gathering alongside a conversation about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples.
3 PM Afro-Indigenous Panel+ Gary White Pop-Up | NKA Gallery
They’re hosting a panel and pop-up art show at NKA Gallery featuring local Indigenous advocate Albert Bender as moderator and clay-focused artist Gary White + Dr. Ricardo Guthrie. Gary’s practice offers a compelling entry point into conversations about mixed heritage and the clay traditions of the South. His grandmother first taught him to make pottery in the Cherokee tradition, and his career has taken that foundation in fascinating directions.
7 PM Benjy Russell Photography Exhibition Reception | (Untitled) Hotel at Bankers Alley
Youth ambassador, Mac Miller, is curating the show. Jana, Benjy, Jeremy, and Joe Clemons are using the process to mentor her, via studio visits and Zoom conversations, about both curation and her own photographic practice. That kind of intergenerational knowledge-sharing is deeply rooted in Indigenous ways of learning, and we’re proud to create space for it. This exhibition brings together a range of styles and perspectives, and it may be one of the largest gatherings of Indigenous photographers in a single exhibition in Nashville. Come be excited by the variety, ranging from Benjy’s dreamy, acidic surrealism to Jana’s more academic, museum-style installations, and Jeremy’s fierce, vibrant realism — along with Mac’s youthful, raw capturing of their friends along the Powwow circuit.
Friday, November 20
9 AM Deer Lady Defense Workshop | Patagonia Nashville
12 NOON Film Showcase: Screenings + Panels | Gear Seven / Arc Studios
There is a lot happening on the film front this year, with national – level filmmakers and actors connected to projects including “Reservation Dogs,” “The Lowdown,” “Rutherford Falls,” PBS documentaries, feature – length work, shorts, and more. Their film programming has had a remarkable track record of attracting talent from major productions, and they’re still a little amazed by the conversations it makes possible.
7 PM Comedy Showcase | Gear Seven / Arc Studios
Comedy night features Blake Pickens, Kels Cooper, and Brian Bahe.
Saturday, November 21
11 AM Artisan Market Day 1: Songwriters, Panels + Kids Corner | Frist Art Museum
6 PM Benjy Russell Artist Talk w/Jana Parker | (Untitled) Hotel at Bankers Alley
TBA Nashville Predators x IndigeNash Partnership Game | Bridgestone Arena
6 PM IndigeNash Music Showcase | Skydeck Assembly Hall
A Grammy – presented showcase at Skydeck featuring Nataanii Means, A Tribe of Horsman, Charly Lowry, Golden Orra, and Evan Redsky.
Sunday, November 22
10 AM Chocolate for Breakfast: Brunch + Panel | RADAR Gallery
This brunch event will pair the exhibition with a panel exploring Indigenous culinary history. Brunch will also feature a local Indigenous coffee company + an appetizer from Chef Julio of Maiz.
1 PM Artisan Market Day 2: Fashion Showcase, Panels + Performances | Frist Art Museum
Two 100% Indigenous led, modeled, and sourced runway shows in partnership with Nashville Fashion Week.
Please Note: the Festival schedule is subject to change due to inclement weather, travel delays, or other unforeseen circumstances. Please consult the festival website frequently, at: https://www.indigenash.org/
IndigeNash is More Than a Festival…
IndigeNash is a living, growing movement rooted in Indigenous storytelling. In the heart of a city with no federally recognized Native land, IndigeNash connects grassroots creativity with industry – level impact, bridging traditional and modern perspectives.
Their mission is to reclaim Native visibility while building inclusive community. IndigeNash exists not just to showcase Native art, but to create new frameworks for Indigenous – led storytelling — amplifying voices in galleries, on screens, on stages, and beyond. IndigeNash is helping to create a future where Native voices are not only represented, but at the center of the narrative.
